Quality of websites in Spanish public hospitals

Abstract

The objectives were to assess the quality of websites in Spanish public hospitals by means of a validated system, also including measures of readability and accessibility. A scale was designed and validated to assess the quality (citizen-orientated) of the websites of hospitals. The quality of the of public hospital websites was evaluated by means of the results of the above evaluation scale, analysis of the readability of their contents, and the results of the accessibility test. The validated scale contains 73 elements or attributes. Analysis of the concordance of website evaluations shows average assessment values of between 0.80 and 0.81, which confirms a high degree of agreement among jurors. Twenty per cent of the attributes do not appear on any websites, and 14% are present on all of them. The average mark of the hospitals is 43%. The marks given for readability of tests show that it is satisfactory for 64% hospitals. None of the websites visited fulfilled the requirements necessary to be considered as accessible. The quality of the websites analysed by means of this scale varies from 23% to 62%. Differences in the size or location of the hospitals do not explain this high level of variability. The results suggest that the readability of websites should be improved and that such sites should be accessible to people with disabilities.

Italian hospitals on the web: a cross-sectional analysis of official websites

“…In designing the Codebook, significant elements that emerged from previous studies [15,21,22] and attributes concerning website user-orientation were both taken into account, as described in detail at the end of this sub-section. We focused more on the characteristics of the website contents than on informatics quality aspects.…”

“…The structure of the Codebook was based on the study by Mira and coll [15], although some items were not taken into account and many were introduced as new ones. Some items concerning the transparency of the website were taken from the "Quality Principles for Cultural Websites: a handbook" by the Minerva Working Group 5 [22] and we introduced some quality items that emerged from a systematic review of empirical studies assessing the quality of health information on the Web [21].…”

“…On their websites, health institutions such as hospitals can provide a large amount of information on the services they offer and how to access them, drawing the users' attention to themselves [15]. Patients can act as customers and decide to turn to the more attractive hospitals, hence a well-structured website can be the most effective way to gain patient confidence [16].…”

Assessing the Online Outpatient Booking System

“…However, the quality of most public hospitals' websites in China was good in terms (activity) of content and design (32). Hence, codification and communication of national standards for designing hospital websites, periodical evaluation of appointment booking websites by Ministry of Health and survey of the users of this method could enhance the qualitative level of these websites.…”

E-Commerce Applications of Agricultural Enterprises in Guangdong Province: An Empirical Analysis of the Websites

“…As for the research on industrial websites, José Joaquín Mira and Gilberto Llinás et al (2006) [9] evaluated the quality of some public hospitals' websites, while E.M. Lewiecki and L.A.Rudolph(2006) [10] researched osteoporosis websites. On the domestic front, Cui Yonghua(2005) [11] appraised manufacturers' e-commerce websites, while Wang Yujia (2006) [7] and Qu Xiaojing (2005) [12] focused on agricultural websites.…”